


Something Ancient, Something New

by Sugar_and_Salt



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, M/M, Magic, Public Sex, Smut, Urban Fantasy, but don't get your hopes up, pd yixing, shouldn't be upsetting though, very mild dubcon, very pseudo noir
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-17
Updated: 2019-03-17
Packaged: 2019-10-23 09:51:03
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,764
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17681174
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sugar_and_Salt/pseuds/Sugar_and_Salt
Summary: Yixing was the strangest mage Yifan had ever met. He could very well be a charlatan, too, but Yifan dearly hoped he wasn't. He needed him. It had to be him.





	Something Ancient, Something New

**Author's Note:**

> many thanks to the mods for making this fest such a lovely experience <3
> 
> this is unbeta'd, so have mercy on me ( 〃．．)

The club was tinted in vague shapes of yellow, orange, and pink, like most clubs were. It wasn't red, for that would insinuate available prostitutes, and it wasn't  _ that  _ kind of establishment. Though to Yifan, the club looked exactly like the last one he'd been to, and that one had been bathed in a deep, bloody red. The lights might be different, but the skimpy clothing wasn't, and he'd already seen plenty of body parts he'd rather see clothed.    
He pressed himself past the last group of dancing people that separated him from the bar, and people turned to stare up at the shadow stealing their warm, colorful light for a brief moment.

Sometimes, Yifan didn't want to stand out. Well, most of the time he didn't  _ want  _ to stand out, but occasionally, he could tolerate it. Tonight he'd rather not but so far, he concluded that he was failing. He'd put in his best effort, too, by wearing nothing but ink black, from head to toe.

Black was neutral and common, black was safe. Vibrant colors were not uncommon, either, but it was usually either the one or the other, and the majority stuck to black for the majority of the time.

A club was not the most common place to be at though, and Yifan saw strips of fabric he assumed to be of a deep, mature blue, daring yellow or what must be a really cheap shade of green. It was hard to tell in the warm lights.

It was also hard to tell what the initial reason for his visit was wearing. It looked a little like mixed colors under a loose, black mesh shirt. Intriguing, but not intriguing enough to distract from the fact that he was currently bordering on being indecent with a young, pretty woman sitting on his lap, head thrown back in obvious ecstacy. The seating area looked comfy, but the plush chairs were so low that Yifan would look ridiculous sitting in them. It would also put him a little too close to his target to be comfortable. It was a sheer miracle that he hadn't been discovered yet, with this being the second time he had ended up observing what he was pretty sure to be one of the greatest mages still alive. At least one of the last ones who had mastered the ancient arts.

Yifan had sought far and wide, easily for a year at this point, following vague whispers questionable tip offs, and now he was sure he was looking at the right man.

Zhang Yixing, known as Lay among mages. The man who apparently brought happiness to anyone who could pay for it. And madness to those who displeased him.

The stories Yifan had heard were wild, a lot of them exaggerated and hard to believe, but right now, the only thing hard to believe would be that this man was anything but a charlatan. His hand slipped beneath the woman's shirt, shamelessly groping her, and Yifan didn't look away, despite feeling uncomfortable at the sight. The woman surely didn't complain, and then Yixing looked up and straight at him.

Yifan knew the shock had flickered up in his own eyes, a flame he had hurried to extinguish, but despite the erratically flickering lights and the fair distance, the man had picked up on it. He saw it in the way he smiled. Yifan lowered his gaze to his drink, suddenly wishing he had indulged in alcohol. It didn't take longer than ten minutes for the mage to appear, and after tapping someone's shoulder, a stranger wordlessly made room for him to slip into the seat next to Yifan.

"You're here for me?" he asked easily, just loud enough to be heard over the music. It could have been a harmless flirt, but they both knew it wasn't. Yifan nodded, and the grin returned to the other's face. It made him look even more youthful and lively, but also slightly... wicked.

The mage tugged a crumpled note out of his pocket and placed it on the countertop, gesturing towards a bottle and holding up two fingers with an easy smile, which seemed to be enough for the bartender to work with. All the while, Yifan kept staring at him, trying to sense anything magical about him, despite having no idea how one would even do that.

The mage waited in silence until the alcohol was served and he gestured towards Yifan's glass in encouragement.

"That one's on me. Cause you're nice to look at."

After a beat of hesitation, Yifan took the glass - the mage hadn't even touched it, after all - and they both downed their shots. Fruity, bitter liquid ran down his throat and the bad taste reminded him why he had skipped out on the alcohol before.

In a swift move, Zhang Yixing placed his glass on the counter and leaned in like he was talking to a friend.

"So, handsome," he began, slightly tilting his head in a display of friendly curiosity, but the underlying sharpness was still ever present and lingering in between every syllable. "What can I do for you today?"

"I want to become your student," Yifan blurted out, because he was straight-forward like that.

Yixing actually blinked, looking unguarded for just a fraction of a second, before the amusement returned, cozily making itself room in his small smile and playful-looking dimples.

"You want to learn how to get women? Or men? Doable. Won't even be that expensive for you," he offered, and his tone was so smooth that Yifan was inclined to believe it despite everything he had heard. But he had seen the way he'd hesitated just now. He'd seen it.

That's why he straightened up a little more, trying to use his statue to look less insecure.

"Not that kind of student," he insisted and leaned in, not too close to be intimate, but close enough not to be overheard.

"I want to learn the ancient arts."

Now Yixing's expression shifted for good, taking on an almost cool look, before he smiled again, getting to his feet.

"It's so noisy here, I have a hard time understanding what you're saying. Let's go somewhere more quiet."

 

Yifan had expected to be attacked, to get a rejection, maybe even to be reported, but he had not expected to be pushed up against a brick wall on a shabby balcony that he wasn't even too sure they were allowed to be on. He had not expected to feel lips on his, a tongue on his, and fingers dancing over his pulse point, dipping inside his collar. It was alarming, and in every other situation, he would have pushed him off long ago, but it was so... hard. It felt good, overwhelmingly good, like it was the first kiss he'd ever had, like his entire insides were cramped up with sudden want that had to be tended to,  _ now _ , and like no one would ever be as capable of that as this man he hadn't ever spoken to.

Yifan was much taller and broader than the man pressing him into the rough stone, and Yixing didn't try to look taller than he was, didn't even act overly dominant, really, but Yifan was ready to drop to his knees for him, and he was starting to feel hazy and strange-

The lips were gone, fingers holding his upper arms as Yixing distanced himself just enough to look at him, the insufferable confidence reflecting in his blown out pupils, taunting him.

"Now tell me again," he whispered, his voice soft without all the distracting noise around them, much softer than Yifan would have imagined it to be. With the way his head was spinning, it sounded like the sweetest, most daunting temptation.

"What did you want me to do for you?"

His own breathing was heavy and embarrassingly uncomposed compared to Yixing, and for a moment, he stared at the other's gentle features. He didn't like the color cyan much, thought it made people look sick, to be perfectly honest, but bathed in the streetlights below and around them, Yixing managed to look simply entrancing.

He parted his lips, stumbled over his tongue, stammered something intelligible, and then took a deep breath.

"I want you to train me in the ancient arts," he then said, slowly and clearly, trying to focus on the others eyes that were crystal clear and yet evading his attention.

The other's expression relaxed upon his words, into a mild kind of surprise, as if Yifan was an animal showing unexpected behaviour. Yifan saw the silence as a chance and pushed forward. It had become much easier after initiating it, and his vision was gradually clearing up.

"I was tested at the institute - I show potential for ancient arts only, and you're the only one I could find who is knowledgeable in that area," Yifan explained, and Yixing raised a brow, looking unimpressed.

"Not a single teacher in the entire institute, huh?"

Yifan shook his head, and Yixing exhaled shortly, presumably condescending. Yifan wasn't too sure.    
"So, are you going to train me?" he asked expectantly.

Yixing's gaze flickered down and up again, giving him the most suggestive once-over Yifan had ever received in his life. Seconds stretched by painfully slowly, with blinking signs and the lights of passing cars silently dancing over their skin.

Yixing took a step back and  _ smiled _ .

"No," he said, dismissive and like he was almost too bored to offer the single syllable as an answer.

Then he turned on his heels and left, leaving Yifan alone on the balcony, staring after him.

His tone had been cold, but his grin had spoken another language.

Well, Yifan had spent a long time finding this man and he certainly wasn't going to give up that easily.

 

-

 

The next day, Yifan returned to the club, extremely relieved to find that Yixing was there again. For a man of his caliber it would have been easy to get business anywhere else, and yet he was back to fondling drunk strangers in plain sight. It further confirmed that Yixing hadn't fully rejected him.

That evening, Yifan had blatantly taken a set at the same, round table, completely ignoring the enchanted young man on his lap. Yixing had shot him a very brief glance, but being acknowledged was better than being ignored. Or sent away.

He spent the evening not so subtly staring at a supposedly great mage seducing people, whispering things in their ears and seeing them off as soon as they were satisfied. And they were most definitely satisfied, judging by their expressions and the amount of bills they left in his pocket.

It was strange because Yixing didn't touch them in a too indecent way - there was only one incident where a new customer had whispered their request in their ear and Yixing had let the person away, only to return alone a while after with long, smooth strides and mussed up hair.

He slid into the seat right next to Yifan, ignoring their previous distance.

He looked like he could need a drink, so Yifan treated him to a soda.

"You think that's all it takes to convince me?" Yixing asked, and Yifan didn't even bat an eyelash.

"No. It was simply my turn to treat you."

It had been loud in the club, too loud to properly hear his reaction but Yifan assumed it was a quiet laugh.

He followed him home that night, silently trailing after him at the cusp of dawn, navigating through crowded and deserted streets alike. Yixing didn't say a word and only turned to face him when he stood at the doorstep of a rather run-down, nondescript apartment building.

"Wanna come inside?" he asked, and it sounded like a joke, maybe even like a jab at Yifan's obnoxious behaviour, but he wasn't completely sure Yixing didn't mean it.

Yifan only shook his head, awkwardly wished him a good night and turned away to walk to his own, rented home. It seemed like a tempting offer with a promise of success, following him inside, but Yifan was pretty sure that if he gave in, he'd lose.

So instead, he persisted. Everyday, without fail, Yifan went to the club and spend the night as close to Yixing as possible. There were nights when Yixing didn't show up, and whenever he took two days off in a row, Yifan would wait at his doorstep on the third day. Away from the blinking neon lights and colored in cool, pale colors, Yixing looked even more gentle, but also more mature and distanced.

"You missed me that badly?" was something he'd ask Yifan, who would not let himself be baited and simply ask when he'd be back.

"Whenever I'll feel like it," Yixing would shrug, and despite his frustration, Yifan wouldn't ever think of raising his voice, or worse, holding him back when he took the steps leading to the entrance, typing in the code with routined precision.

"Then I'll wait here until you do," would be something Yifan would reply, and he didn't know what caused Yixing to pause on his way inside one morning, what made him turn and actually look at him with his shoulders moving in a soundless sigh. Maybe he'd been tired that day, or maybe even mysterious mages could be infected by the sober, dusty morning sky.

"You're not gonna achieve anything by sitting there," Yixing said softly, arms crossed, but expression gentle. "Except a brutal cold, maybe. Go home. It's not like I'm going anywhere."

He didn't sound like he was mocking him, or even frustrated with him, and Yifan's first instinct was to trust him. Then again, he'd always been a little too trusting, so the shot him a doubtful look.

This time Yixing's sigh was audible, and he took a step down, only to run his fingers through Yifan's hair, cool nails running over his cheeks, and Yifan blanked out completely. The gesture should be demeaning, maybe even condescending, and definitely not as intimate as it was.

"Go home, Yifan."

Yifan ducked away from the touch and shot him a wary look.

"How do you know my name?"

It came out much weaker than he would have liked.

Yixing's lips tugged into a smile immediately, a toned down version of his nightly cockiness.

"Am I a great, ancient mage or not?" he asked, clearly teasing, throwing one last thing over his shoulder before he entered his apartment.

"It's written on your passport. Take better care of your personal belongings."

Instantly, Yifan felt for his wallet, trying to remember a time where the other would have had access to it, and felt equal parts embarrassed and flustered.

But something had happened, he told himself. Yixing had moved from his position. It might have been a small, (intentional) step on his toes, but a step nonetheless.

 

Yifan stayed glued to Yixing's heels the following days. Yixing barely acknowledged him, much less offered to teach him anything at all, so Yifan decided to make the best of his situation. He'd been trying to understand the other's magic since the day he first met him, but no matter how hard he tried, it escaped his grasp entirely. Even without him having to worry over being attacked or rejected (or talked to, really), he simply didn't understand how Yixing was practicing his art. Yixing talked to people. He flirted with people, touched people, was indecent in general, and Yifan silently worried whether he practiced some sort of incubi-related magic (though that would at least explain how Yifan could have missed out on his own, supposed potential). It was likely that he was whispering spells in their ear. That wasn't unusual at all per sé, but maybe he was using a foreign language?

He knew he was showing weakness by breaking down first, but after a middle-aged man had left a stack of bills on the bench between them for what looked like nothing but some nice, whispered words, Yifan couldn't hold it in any longer.

"What do I have to do for you to teach me?" he asked over the pumping music, and Yixing looked neither surprised nor smug about him giving in. He steadied himself with an elbow on the table as he leant sideways, swiftly pocketing the money. Yifan wasn't sure whether he wanted to stay hidden from other people's ears and eyes or whether he liked to see him flustered. If there was only one thing he'd learnt in the past weeks, though, it was how to keep a straight face around Yixing.

"Well, it's not like you have shown any potential yet," Yixing shrugged, bored gaze lingering on his lips - which only effectively added to his confusion  _ and  _ nervousness. When he looked at him like this, it felt like the gentle, soft-spoken person that had ruffled his hair had been a mere illusion.

"What would it look like? If I was showing potential, I mean," Yifan prodded patiently, not one to be discouraged easily. Not after all he'd gone through.

Yixing shifted his weight a little, cheek mashed against his hand as his lips pursed in a gauging manner.

"Like anything other than simply a pretty face."

Yifan felt humiliated, but refused to let it show.

"I'm not able to do the conventional stuff. I tried. It's only ancient arts-"

"Then go ahead, do something ' _ ancient _ '," Yixing encouraged him, and with the pumping bass it was impossible to tell whether he was mocking him or not. Yifan was starting to lose his patience, he couldn't help it.

"How am I supposed to learn something that no one knows anything about?"

Yixing had the nerve to lightly roll his eyes, and in one fluid movement, he had settled himself on Yifan's lap, forcing himself in between him and the table. Utterly dumbstruck, Yifan didn't even show any resistance besides a weak flinch - Yixing may be shorter than him and lithe-looking, but his weight was solid, pinning him down in a way that all but forced Yifan to twitch in interest.

"What are you doing?" he began, leaning backwards, meeting the back of the couch all-too soon while Yixing leisurely placed his hands on his shoulders, looking perfectly unbothered. "We're in public-"

"Nobody cares," Yixing quipped in slight exasperation, and while he was undeniably right - Yifan had already seen worse things at the club - that didn't mean he was comfortable getting this aroused while potential onlookers were no more than two steps away.

Before he could say just that, Yixing was cupping his face, looking serious, and for a moment, Yifan thought he had lost it for good, because there was no way his rapidly beating heart would be loud enough to drown out the music around him. The aggressive, synthetic sounds seemed to slow down, and for a second, Yifan felt nauseous as his body complained about the way reality and sound seemed to drift apart. Then he saw Yixing's bright eyes rest on him, emanating calmness and reassurance, and he realized that this was Yixing's magic at work. The sounds dulled down, to the point that it felt like he had his ear pressed against a door leading to the club instead of sitting right in the middle of it.

"How did you do that?" Yifan asked, way too loud, judging by the way Yixing's face crinkled up in displeasure.

"How do you think I did it?" he asked, purposefully quietly, and the message was clear.

"I don't... know," Yifan replied, trying hard to speak in a regular volume. Yixing slightly tilted his head and waited, so Yifan tried to ignore the numb sensation of sounds, the hands resting on his shoulders and the thighs bracketing him in. There weren't many options.

"You either did it with your thoughts - but that seems too powerful even for old arts - so that's unlikely," he thought out loud, eyes sticking to the tacky, orange padding of the couch before flitting up to meet the other's probing gaze.

"Did you do it through the touch?"

Yixing actually patted his cheek now, wearing a mild smile.

"You're getting there."

Yifan was too distracted to be bothered by the gesture.

"So by kissing people, you do things to them? But you didn't make out with everyone-"

His response was a flick to his cheek, and Yifan flinched.

"Getting colder again," Yixing hummed, and adjusted his posture a little, pressing their lower bodies together even tighter in the progress. Yifan pretended not to notice.

"Kissing just helps me in getting to know people," Yixing explained easily, as if it was a really obvious thing to do. When he realized that Yifan wasn't going to complain about his condescending behaviour at all and was simply listening with rapt attention, he changed strategies and leaned in, stopping just shy of brushing their lips.

"If you'd kissed a little more often, you might have noticed that on your own," he whispered against his lips. Yifan closed his eyes, putting his entire focus on not moving an inch, and he felt Yixing chuckle.

"Good choice. Keep them closed," he murmured. "And now pay attention."

He felt two cool fingertips sliding down the left side of his neck, dancing down almost playfully, dipping beneath his collar and slightly around-

Yifan shuddered, eyes flying open as a wave of pleasure ran through him, feeling like someone had put his tongue on him without warning. The feeling gradually ebbed down, and he understood now.

"You did that to me before," he burst out, ignoring the way Yixing moved his hips in the tiniest ruts, obviously trying to distract him now. "When we first met, you also... touched my neck like that."

"It's an easy little thing to do," Yixing said equanimously, offering his neck. "Try it."

Again, his first instinct was to simply obey, and Yifan lifted his hand, but paused before he could touch the inviting expanse of unblemished skin.

"But- how?"

Yixing's lips twitched into a smile, short and devoid of the gentleness.

"One more time. There won't be a third time. Pay attention," he repeated, and Yifan may not look like it, but he didn't take well to pressure, and Yixing's serious demeanour made him more nervous than his unpredictable one. Still, he closed his eyes again, and when he felt the press of fingers against his neck - the same spot as before - Yifan blindly reached up to get a hold of his wrist. Yixing stilled. Carefully, Yifan felt out the other's hands, down the much slimmer digits, placing his own two fingers next to Yixing's, holding on to him. Yixing understood, and instead of mocking him, he continued a little more slowly than before, allowing Yifan's fingers to feel the movement. It dragged downwards, but there was a little swirl towards the middle of his throat, and then a sharp turn around, to the back. Even though he was prepared for the wave of pleasure, it still turned out to be a great distraction. It was slightly duller, and Yifan wondered whether the speed of his movements was also a factor to consider.

When he opened his eyes, blinking against the unpleasantly pink lights, he was still holding on to the other's hand, and he was embarrassingly hard. Yixing didn't seem bothered in the slightest, and only rocked against him once more, as if this situation was more peaceful than arousing to him.

"Now try it," he commanded softly, and with shaky fingers, Yifan reached out, placing his free hand on the other's waist to steady him. Yixing didn't move an inch as he tried to feel out the very same spot the gesture had started in. It was hard to find it, having had nothing but a sensory hint of where to find it. Eventually, Yifan simply tried his luck, trying to imitate the movement he had felt. It turned out mirrored, so without thinking, he palmed the other's neck as if to erase the movement - a gesture that actually provoked a fleeting smile by Yixing - and then he tried anew. Lightly dragging his fingers down, into the small swirl and then backwards...

Yixing looked as if he was actually considering something, before looking at him nonchalantly.

"Nothing."

He felt hot embarrassment well up, certainly strong enough to kill his erection, but instead of questioning his potential - like Yifan himself was doing right now - Yixing only ran his hand through Yifan's hair, prompting him to look up.

"Try again," he demanded simply, and then he delved in suck on his neck, right where he had placed his fingers earlier. With his breath stuttering and blood rushing in his ears, Yifan buried his hand in the other's hair, softly trying to push him away.

"You're distracting me," he mumbled, and the small huff against his moist skin told him that that was the entire point. Yixing wanted to make this as hard for him by not giving him clear instructions, by demanding him to figure things out on his own, all the while being as distracting as possible.

"If you can pull this move off, I'll teach you," he murmured into his skin, and Yifan groaned when he felt the other's teeth nipping at him. He was probably a sadist, after all, Yifan dimly thought as he tried to trace out the symbol again.

He had virtually no idea what he was supposed to do, and it came to no surprise that he didn't manage to pull any reaction out of Yixing, no matter how hard he tried. He almost felt sorry for that, considering that he came in his pants somewhere between the fifth and seventh try, while Yixing kept rutting against him until he got bored enough to climb off Yifan's lap.

"It's late," he said, and at the dazed and embarrassed expression on Yifan, he reached out to ruffle his hair.

"Better luck next time," he said, not unkindly, and got to his feet. As soon as he stepped away from the table, the noise returned, washing over Yifan who was left looking at the retreating back of one of the stranges magicians he had ever met. And while his first contact with an actual, ancient form of magic had left him stunned, a part of him was also trying to decipher the meaning of Yixing's last smile, which had looked oddly benign, contrasting his actions.

Yixing was a mysterious person indeed.

 

_

  
  


Yifan had been so sure that practicing on his own and therefore without Yixing's overall distracting presence and him closely observing his every step would be easier. Well, he wasn't missing the other staring at him(he was missing the sexual touches, there was no fooling anyone about that, but not during his training) and yet he couldn't seem to nail what Yixing had labeled an easy trick.

Yifan had gone home right after Yixing had left, carefully jotting down the rune Yixing had drawn on his neck. It took him many more tries than he thought it would, and he simply couldn't be too sure of the form seeing as he had only felt it. That this might have been a purposeful move didn't occur to him until two days later, while he watched his (soon to be) teacher seduce a young, rich girl.    
Now that he knew what he was looking for, it seemed all-too obvious that the ambiguous, borderline indecent behaviour was nothing but an elegant excuse to touch people. He hadn't seen Yixing perform that specific, pleasure-inducing rune again, but he saw many others being drawn into people's hands, wrists, or collarbones. When he got exceedingly handsy, the runes had to be drawn in hard-to-reach places, and the way he had dug his nails into the young girl's arm made Yifan realize that yes, performing the rune on him had been a favour on Yixing's end. He'd allowed him to feel it, the speed of the movement as well as the subtle change in pressure, and who knew what else he had to look out for. That evening, Yifan asked Yixing to show it to him one last time. The other gave in, in exchange for a drink, and soon after, Yifan went home early. He sat down at his cheap, wooden desk, and expanded his notes. He wrote down every single thing coming to mind, documenting the pressure he had used, his body posture, and writing lines and lines of text, keeping track of every single impression he'd had, no matter how useless it may turn out to be.

Even so, and with days of practice, Yifan didn't manage to recreate the effect. Sometimes, he wondered whether Yixing was simply toying with him. Other times, he doubted himself instead. Days passed by and neither Yixing nor Yifan addressed the incident again, and when one night, Yifan managed to elicit a spark in himself, he wanted to cry from relief. It was nothing but a weak spark, but it was a proof that he was technically able to do this. He really did have the potential.

Still, a spark was embarrassingly little to show off, so he kept practicing. It wasn’t like he had opened a floodgate though, and felt more and more like an accidental success on his side. Trying to master this rune felt like fumbling in the metaphorical dark. He  _ needed  _ a teacher. He needed Yixing.

So he came up with a plan.

 

During the day, Yixing wore black like every other person who had no interest in expressing themselves to the public, and instead of mesh and shimmering fabrics, he usually stuck to woolen pullovers. Instead of public indecency, he used his aloof charm to find excuses to touch people. Instead of dirty clubs, he frequented hospitals, orphanages, and libraries. Yifan only vaguely knew about Yixing's daily life, but while starkly different, it seemed no less interesting or insightful, so he hoped that Yixing would allow him in once he accepted him as a student. Hiring mages was a complicated, expensive process, and he couldn't imagine an orphanage being able to pay someone of Yixing's caliber, and when he carefully pointed that out one day, Yixing had shrugged and smiled, telling him that he preferred to choose his clients on his own, doing what he deemed necessary to whoever he felt like working for.

Knowing so little about Yixing made it hard to think of a good time and place to approach him. Yifan hesitated a lot, spent hours arguing with himself and gearing himself up before he managed to convince himself that yes, the most obvious choice was the best one in this case. Being brash and forward was his best bet for sure.

Now being brash  _ or  _ forward when it came to strangers and near strangers was far from Yifan's personal nature, but his decision had been made and so he followed Yixing home one night. That in itself wasn’t too unusual. It wasn't all that late, meaning that the sky was still pitch black and by now, Yixing actually talked to him, light and effortless small talk. Yifan kept up a straight face on their entire way back, avoiding even accidentally touching Yixing so the other wouldn't catch a whiff of how nervous he was - he had no idea whether it worked like that, but he chose to be rather safe than sorry.

Ironically, today was the first day Yixing  _ didn't  _ offer him to stay over. He went up to the keypad and turned to say his goodbyes to Yifan, only to see the other right behind him, waiting nonchalantly. After a short, but heavy moment of silence, Yifan spoke up first.

"You forgot the code?" Yifan asked, mirroring his nonchalance. "I can help you with that."

Surprise morphed into a lofty kind of amusement as Yixing crossed his arms.

"Breaching my privacy now, aren't you?" he asked, and it was entirely joking, an open invitation for Yifan to keep going. Which he did.

"I've been looking at your fingers an awful lot these past days," he explained quietly, leaning past Yixing to type in his passcode. The lights framing the keypad went from green to blue, and the door slid open. Before Yixing could regain control over the situation, Yifan entered the building, shooting him a questioning look.

"What, you also forgot your room number? I'm not a mind reader."

Yixing was still smiling, though it gained a much sharper edge to it. Without a word, he walked ahead, taking the stairs instead of the elevator, and Yifan followed after him. His voice or face hadn't betrayed him, but he was a mess on the inside. This was unknown territory, and he didn't have much confidence in what he was about to do.

When Yixing took his sweet time typing in the second code to his apartment, Yifan took a deep breath and gave himself a mental push. And then he gave Yixing a very physical push as soon as the door was open, pressing him against the next best wall, kissing him like he was hungry for it. And really, he was. He almost got carried away the moment Yixing licked at his lips, closing the door with his foot as if he had expected nothing else to happen.

The apartment was dark, and there was some sort of furniture very close to them, but Yifan didn't dare break the spell to take it to the bedroom, groping Yixing's butt and sucking what he hoped to be a lasting bruise to the other's neck instead. The other had the audacity to laugh breathily.

"You wanna fuck the acceptance out of me?" he asked, whispery and playful as his fingers rubbed down his sides. "You better give it your best shot, then."

The clever fingers slipped inside his pants, feeling beneath the band of his underwear.

"Maybe you could ride it out of me, too," he suggested, and in response, Yifan bit his neck, receiving a mix of a breathy moan and chuckle in return.

"Not even giving me a choice," Yixing sighed, pliantly rocking against him while his fingers remained mischievous, wandering down further.

"Since when are you so talkative?" Yifan asked against his skin, trailing wet kisses up the side of his face until he could lick and tug at his earlobe, and that was the first time Yixing actually shuddered. It gave Yifan the confidence he needed. The buttons of Yixing's pants were tiny in his hands, but Yifan made quick work of them, anyway, aiming to prove how clever his own fingers could be.

 

_

  
  


Yixing wasn't loud in bed and neither was Yifan. That was more than alright - Yifan didn't like getting distracted trying to figure out whether his partner was wailing in pleasure or just tried to give him a headache. With Yixing, pulling even the tiniest noises out of him seemed like a reward, and the laboured breathing only turned him on more.

He hadn't been too sure on which position Yixing preferred in bed, and instead of asking, he went ahead and tried both at some point, slipping his fingers inside him and wrapping them around his dick. Just as expected, Yixing seemed receptive to anything he was willing to give, and always ready to demand more.

"How many can you fit inside, what do you think?" he asked. It came out breathy but no less provocative, and Yifan thought that no one had the right to be so cocky lying under him, with his leg resting around his shoulder, muscles fluttering around two of his fingers. He was losing track of his initial goal though, so Yifan pulled them out before he would actually give in and try to find out. He wrapped his hand around his dick instead, once more grateful that his hand was large, and his fingers long enough to comfortably reach completely around it. It was nearly impossible to see Yixing's expression in the pale cyan street lights dusting the room, but the whimper was telling. The feeling of hot slick coating his fingers was telling, too. He was close.

Yifan leaned down, covering the other's body as much as he could, sharing his own body heat and licking over Yixing's absently parted lips.

"Do you draw runes inside of people, too?" he murmured, his free hand grazing the other's rim, but not slipping inside. Yixing sucked in a breath, fingers hazily seeking out his neck, but Yifan stopped him by grabbing his wrist and placing it back on the mattress. He was squirming now, muscles tensing up, and Yifan caged him in even more, the slightly slick fingers of his free hand coming up to draw the rune into Yixing's neck as he gave him long, firm strokes. A quick line drawn in medium pressure, a small, oval sling towards the throat and then backwards, ending in pressure-

Yixing moaned for the first time that night when he came, drawing Yifan into a hard, mean kiss as if to conceal it.

Yifan himself was still painfully hard, but didn't do anything about it as his strokes ebbed down, absently seeking out the streaks of cum on his chest to smear them across the other's love handles instead.

When Yixing's breathing had calmed down sufficiently, Yifan stopped massaging the slick into his skin and slid away a little - he'd allowed himself to get carried away again.

"Did it work?" he asked quietly, his voice still rough, and Yixing pulled him down to lie with him, facing him. Again, Yifan caught his hand before it could reach his neck.

"You do realize I have plenty of other fun runes up my sleeves?" Yixing asked, swallowing dryly, but Yifan didn't take the bait.

"Did it work though?"

When Yixing didn't reply immediately, Yifan felt his anxiety return full force, but then the other hummed.

"I mean, I suppose I felt a little something," Yixing admitted, immediately slipping back into his role as an aloof, superior mage despite sounding slightly fucked out. "Not exactly effective though."

"You said you'd teach me if I pulled off this trick," Yifan insisted, trying not to sound too petulant. "And I think my fingers brought you pleasure. That was the whole point, wasn't it?"

Yixing actually snorted, the sound so sudden that it completely caught Yifan by surprise. The snort ebbed into subdued, breathy chuckles, and Yifan was so tense he might burst any second-

"You're hilarious," Yixing commented, and he could hear the other grin.

"You know what? You win. I'll teach you."

Relief bloomed in Yifan's chest, feeling just as good as the orgasm he could have probably had if he hadn't stopped Yixing earlier.

"Don't expect things to be easy though."

Yifan hummed, finally loosening his grip on the other's wrist. He hadn't even realized how tightly he had held on to him.

"I think you made that pretty clear by now," he stated dryly, and Yixing poked his side in response, chuckling at the violent way Yifan flinched - there was no magic behind it though.

"Don't think it's because you fucked me though," Yixing added, "I'm not  _ that  _ easy."

It was Yifan's time to huff in amusement.

"Sure."

He evaded another jab to his side and then intertwined both their hands, keeping them still. Yixing simply allowed it and relaxed into the cushions.

"I was just messing with you," he admitted calmly. "You showed potential the moment you broke through the pleasure rune."

Yifan had almost forgotten about that. He hadn't realized that this had been a test. He could accuse Yixing now, complain and whine, or maybe even thank him for finally giving in.

"I won't waste your time," Yifan said instead.

"Then go to sleep now," Yixing quipped, but the way his lips brushed Yifan's knuckles told him that he didn't mean it like that.

He had no idea who drifted off first, but when he awoke the next morning to Yixing insisting on him joining him in his morning exercises, he knew that a new chapter of his life had started.

Yixing was a peculiar person all around, and so was the way he performed magic. Despite the other's constant tests, strict observance and merciless evaluations, though, Yifan knew that Zhang Yixing was the best teacher he was ever going to get.

And maybe, just if they were still interested in that by the time Yifan was able to keep up with him, they could be something more, too.

  
  



End file.
